In Congress, Donald Trump’s choice of attorney general Matt Gaetz was at the forefront of the Justice Department challenge and was a staunch defender of the former president, hinting at the role Brandon could play in overhauling the troubled federal agency if confirmed .

Gaetz rose to prominence defending then-President Trump and disparaging the Justice Department during the investigation into Russian collusion in the Trump campaign, frequently appearing on television and using his role on key committees to challenge the agency, which pushed the long-debunked “Russian plot.” narrative.

After Trump’s first term ended, the four-term congressman challenged the department over its handling of the Hunter Biden investigations and the investigation into Trump’s assassination attempts.

President-elect Trump undoubtedly nominated Gaetz for these reasons, viewing him as an important advocate and staunch ally at the helm of an agency that he said was undermining him at every turn of his first term.

But Gaetz will likely still face a tough confirmation battle and his nomination has drawn skepticism from Senate Republicans who will be key to confirming him to the post.

When false allegations that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia were pushed by Democrats on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump’s first attorney general, former Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, put the president angry when he recused himself and allowed the department to appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter. allegations.

Failure to verify

Rep. Matt Gaetz, along with Reps. Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes have become the leading critics of the investigation and the defenders are President Trump and his administration.

Throughout the investigation, he asked special prosecutor Robert Mueller to disclose any evidence of collusion obtained during his secret investigation. When the final report showed the investigation found no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia, Gaetz sharply criticized Mueller and pressed him at a hearing for answers about the basis of his investigation .

Specifically, he criticized Mueller for his team’s apparent bias in following up on flimsy leads about Trump but failing to assess the veracity of information contained in the infamous — and now discredited — Steele Dossier.

“Here’s what I kind of notice, Director Mueller: When people associated with Trump lied, you threw the book at them. When Christopher Steele lied, nothing. So it appears that when Glenn Simpson met with Russians, nothing was done. When Trump met the Russians, 3500 words. And maybe the reason there are these discrepancies in what you focused on is because the team was very biased and engaged in resistance. And vowed to stop Trump. Gaetz told Mueller at the hearing.

After Trump’s Justice Department appointed special prosecutor John Durham to investigate any errors in the Russia investigation, Gaetz criticized him because, in his opinion, he failed to carry out a thorough investigation. “For people like the president who trust you, I think you have let them down. I think you have let the country down. You are one of the obstacles to the real accountability that we need,” Gaetz said in Durham during a hearing.

Congressional Democrats rose to power in 2019 and ultimately launched the first impeachment proceedings against President Trump, alleging that he inappropriately pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find political dirt on his opponent Joe Biden. Gaetz has once again become a key Trump defender.

When Chairman Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, who led the investigation, held secret hearings behind closed doors and out of public view at a SCIF – a facility for hearing classified information – Gaetz rallied a group of House Republicans for rush into the room and disrupt the hearings. The group of representatives complained about the “Soviet-style” impeachment process. Schiff would later be censured by the House.

Ultimately, this impeachment attempt failed when Senate Republicans voted to acquit the president.

After President Joe Biden took office in 2020, Gaetz continued his criticism of the Justice Department for what he called unfair treatment of the January 6 protesters who entered the Capitol and for obstructing to the Biden impeachment inquiry.

Garland DOJ fueled ‘conspiracy theories’

Earlier this year, Gaetz pressed Garland on several lawsuits against Trump, asking the attorney general to ensure communications between his office and local authorities who had indicted Trump. Specifically, Congress sought any communications between Garland’s DOJ and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg or Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Gaetz argued that any obstruction of the request would fuel the “conspiracy theory” that Garland sought to dismiss: that the Biden administration coordinated with local prosecutors in the Trump cases. “The offices you are referring to are offices independent of the state…” Garland tried to respond.

“You come here and you attack that this is a conspiracy theory that there is a coordinated legal action against Trump. And then we say, ‘All right, just give us the documents. Give us the correspondents, and then, if it’s a conspiracy theory, will be proof,'” Gaetz chimed in. “But when you say, ‘Well, we’ll accept your request, and then we’ll sort of process it through the DOJ accommodation process, then you are in fact. advance the very dangerous conspiracy theory that concerns you,’” he continued.

Gaetz’s critical history with the Justice Department leaves little room for doubt that the former representative would seek to overhaul the agency and continue the “retaliation” to the DOJ and FBI promised by Donald Trump during the electoral trial.

“Fully committed”

The choice reportedly rattled DOJ officials, particularly those involved in the prosecution of Trump, which ended at the federal level as the former president prepares to return to office in January.

One thing Gaetz is almost certain to do is fully commit to implementing all of Trump’s policies within the department, a mission that contrasts with his Republican successors, who acted more independently of their director general.

Mark Paoletta, a close Trump ally and member of the transition team, said DOJ rank-and-file lawyers should be “fully engaged in implementing President Trump’s policies or they should leave or be fired” in a message about.

Paoletta also warned that the new Trump team would not accept any attempts by federal bureaucrats to thwart the new administration’s agenda.

Gaetz appears to face a tougher confirmation than other candidates. Several Senate Republicans, needed to confirm the former representative, have expressed doubts about Gaetz’s ability to garner the required support in the chamber. Losing the support of more than three Republican senators would doom any of Trump’s nominees.

“It’s just that Matt Gaetz has a very long, steep hill to cross the finish line,” said Senator Kevin CramerRN.C. “And that will require spending a lot of money, and you just have to ask yourself: If you could get it across the finish line, was it worth the cost?

“It’s going to be very difficult” said Senator Markwayne MullinR-Okla.

Some senators have expressed concerns about the still-unknown findings of a House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz, which reportedly involves allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. Gaetz has vehemently denied all allegations that have been publicly reported. Now that Gaetz has resigned from the House, the committee no longer has jurisdiction to continue the investigation.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., said Thursday that the findings of the report would remain confidential. However, some senators say they want to consult the ethics report before voting on whether or not to confirm Gaetz.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., said he “absolutely” wants to see the results. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both told NBC News that they believe the findings will be revealed in some way and impact the confirmation process.